News, 10/30/2013

The Friends of Water, UNICEF, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and OHCHR

JOINT STATEMENT
Measuring Inequalities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

There is widespread agreement that the progressive elimination of inequalities is indispensable for the post-2015 agenda. This is one of the most important lessons learned under the current Millennium Development Goals framework – that the poorest and most marginalized should specifically be included in future development goals.

Today, the Friends of Water, UNICEF, the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and OHCHR call on the international community to ensure that the post-2015 development agenda is framed around the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

Future goals, targets and indicators should be framed in such a way as to include an explicit focus on the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups and individuals, including through the use of disaggregated data. Disaggregation will allow inequalities to be measured. “Success” must then be assessed in relation to the progress made in closing gaps or inequalities in access to sanitation, water and hygiene, and also in other sectors, such as access to education and immunization.

We will work to ensure that development priorities, in the coming years and beyond, focus on the millions of marginalized peoples who have remained hidden within aggregate statistics, and who continue to have no access to basic services.